Emily Sartain

Emily Sartain (March 17, 1841 – June 17, 1927) was an American painter and engraver. She was the first girl in Europe and the United States to practice the art of mezzotint engraving, and the only woman to win a gold medal at the 1876 World Fair in Philadelphia. Sartain became a nationally approved art educator and was the director of the Philadelphia School of Design for Women from 1866 to 1920. Her father, John Sartain, and three of her brothers, William, Henry and Samuel were artists. Before she entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and studied abroad, her father took her upon a Grand Tour of Europe. She helped found the New Century Club for effective and professional women, and the professional women's art clubs, The Plastic Club and The Three Arts Club.